Hybrid vehicle
A car that carries both an engine and an electric motor and uses each where it works best. It recovers energy into a battery when slowing down, which improves fuel economy.
An engine is efficient at moderate speed and load but poor when pulling away or crawling. The motor covers those conditions, and under braking it runs as a generator to recover electricity. In 1997 Toyota launched the Prius, the first mass-produced hybrid passenger car[1]. Its distinctive feature is a gear set that blends engine and motor power freely.
The idea itself is old: around 1900 Ferdinand Porsche built a car in which a petrol engine generated electricity to drive motors. Batteries and generators were too heavy then. Plug-in hybrids, which can be charged from outside, are now common as well. Since the battery never has to cover a whole journey alone it can be small, and the car works without charging infrastructure, which has made hybrids a practical choice until electric vehicles spread.
Related terms
- Internal combustion engineAn engine that burns fuel inside its cylinders and uses the pressure to push pistons. Petrol and diesel engines are both of this kind.
- Electric vehicleA car driven by a motor running on electricity stored in a battery. It emits no exhaust while driving.
- Lithium-ion batteryA battery that charges and discharges as lithium ions shuttle between the positive and negative electrodes. Used everywhere from phones to electric cars.